Questions, Questions Everywhere: 11 Scenarios You Can Use to Enhance Your Child's Curiosity This Summer
Curiosity is the foundation for innovation and problem solving—and here are some fun questions to help your kids develop theirs this summer.

LOS ANGELES, June 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents know that children are naturally curious. Unfortunately for many children, as they grow, their curiosity is dulled instead of sharpened. They depend on outside influences—TVs, computers, video games, and yes, parents—to keep them engaged and entertained. Yet it doesn't have to be that way—and Victoria Ryan O'Toole says summer is a great time to help kids develop an active interest in the world around them.

"The fact that school's out doesn't mean that learning has to stop," says O'Toole, creator of the Molly Moccasins story, game, and activity book series for children (www.mollymoccasins.com). "In fact, over the next few months, asking questions and developing a healthy imagination can be more fun than ever."

Helping children strengthen their "curiosity muscles" is a wonderful gift because it enables them to continually learn, grow, and question the world they live in and sets them up for a successful future.

This year, O'Toole urges parents not to let their children spend the long, sunny days of summer in front of a television or computer screen. Once you begin to help your kids "see" all of the interesting questions that can be found in everyday life, they'll soon begin to ask them naturally.

Here, O'Toole shares curiosity-enhancing questions you might ask and explore with your child during 11 common summer scenarios, as well as a few Molly Moccasins titles that complement each activity.

Can you imagine or create a space to camp in? (Use white sheets to get the feeling of being in the Arctic, or find the fluffiest pillows in your house to help you imagine that you are floating among the clouds!)

"No matter where you live, the world around you is bursting with questions to be asked and information to be learned," O'Toole says. "You just have to keep your eyes open so that you see opportunities to ask them! This summer, you may be surprised by how much fun you have in the process!"